Cigars Face Extinction under Labour ‘Nanny State’ Attack

THE TELEGRAPH: Ban on traditional packaging could lead to ‘total wipe-out’ of industry, tobacconists claim

This screenshot has been taken from this Telegraph article. | It could be ‘game over’ for Britain’s cigar industry if the proposed rules come into play | Credit: Jeff Gilbert
Cigars face disappearing from Britain within a matter of years under “nanny state” health plans to make smoking less attractive.

Health ministers are considering fresh proposals to ban them unless they come in plain packaging with graphic photographs, similar to cigarettes.

It threatens to outlaw centuries-old artwork that adorns the boxes and bands of authentic handmade cigars, sold largely by small family businesses that have long been exempt from onerous packaging rules applied to corporate tobacco giants.

The proposals have caused uproar across the industry, which fears the rules will cut off imports to Britain.

Tobacconists are warning the rules will put them “out of business” for good and lead to a “total wipe-out” of the sector within a matter of years. » | Noah Eastwood Money Reporter. Harry Brennan Consumer Affairs Editor | Friday, August 21, 2026

Stop this damn war on smoking! Period! I am no longer a smoker, but even so, I am sick and tired of this war. There are far, far worse, unhealthier things in life than enjoying a cigar or even a cigarette. Until just over four years ago, I smoked for most of my adult life, and I look back on my time as a smoker with joy and affection. I have quit smoking very successfully, but I cannot say I feel any healthier as a result of quitting. And as for the pleasure I get out of life, it is seriously diminished. Do-gooders make me sick! Far sicker than smoking ever did! This perpetual war on smoking is enough to make me want to leave these shores for good. The problem is that our politicians of all stripes have no understanding of joie de vivre and its life-enhancing potential and contribution to longevity. — © Mark Alexander

Chataeu Diadem at Davidoff of London - Emily, Edward and Eddie Sahakian

Jul 16, 2026 Emily (‪@ Chateau Diadem‬ ) Edward and Eddie Sahakian finally gather at Davidoff of London to catch up and discuss the creation of Chateau Diadem.

Why Cuban Cigars Are So Expensive | So Expensive

Jul 11, 2026 | Cuban cigars hold a reputation as the world's most opulent tobacco product. A box of good quality Habanos can cost thousands of dollars.

Every hand-rolled Cuban cigar goes through about 500 manual tasks from seed to cigar. But over the last 25 years, cigars made in other countries in the Caribbean and Central America have become comparable in quality, consistency, and cost.

Some experts suggest that up to 95% of all Cuban cigars in the US, which hasn't allowed the import of Cuban cigars since the 1962 embargo, are actually counterfeit.

So why are Cuban cigars so desirable? And is that why they're so expensive?

STOP the WAR on SMOKING!

MARK ALEXANDER: All these stupid ideas come here from America! The home of most bad ideas and all clownery!

We Europeans follow those Americans like lemmings! Whatever stupid idea those clowns come up with, whatever the new trend is, we must follow! Stop this NONSENSE! AT ONCE!

We can all see just how stupid Americans can be. We now have proof aplenty! Need I say more?

This anti-smoking movement has gained a seemingly unstoppable momentum out of the self-righteousness of the exceedingly intolerant. It has lost all sense of reason and rationality. And politicians who are motivated and governed by having wet dreams about being liked, take the anti-smoking message, and run with it, hoping to become even more popular.

Were longevity and good health the goal, there would be plenty of things to be banned: alcohol, excessive sugar consumption, tattoos, and drug-taking. And plenty more things besides. But people who indulge in these things are allowed to live in peace. Politicians do not molest them with ever more restrictive laws!

As a person who has survived a few near-death experiences—I have kissed the angel of death on more occasions than I would care to recall—I view life differently from these lemmings. None of those near-death experiences, by the way, have been related to my one-time, very pleasurable, daily smoking habit. (I have been a non-smoker for more than four years now.)

All pleasures in these Puritanical days have either been banned or are in the process of being banned. All pleasures not yet banned soon will be. All pleasures have already been made too expensive to be enjoyed by anyone other than the superrich. All is possible for those people, of course.

And then come the proscriptions on smoking anywhere other than perhaps one’s own home.

Incompetent politicians have listened to the intolerant amongst us and have OUTLAWED the pleasure. Those clowns prefer the people to take drugs like cannabis, cocaine, ketamine, and whatever the hell else those people take. Because those substances are usually enjoyed in secrecy, and anyway, the people who take those substances are not compliant like the struggling middle classes.

Furthermore, without having any acceptable evidence, politicians have encouraged people to vape instead, So they have endangered the lives of children with those ridiculous, exotic, and enticing flavours. I would wager that vaping, in the long run, will be shown to be far more damaging to health than smoking ever was! And for reasons I can enumerate on another occasion. In my opinion, politicians have been IRRESPONSIBLE to encourage the habit as a healthier option, as a smoking substitute — a habit they cannot possibly know enough about to evaluate. People haven’t been vaping long enough for them to know a great deal about its long-term deleterious effects on health. So, we have yet to reap the consequences of politicians’ bad decisions.

It is high time that the people be liberated; it is high time for them to be unchained. If the worst that a person does in this life is enjoy a smoke twixt birth and death, then it can be said that that person really has lived a pretty clean life.

All Rights Reserved
© Mark Alexander

Quitting Smoking

MARK ALEXANDER: I have just realised something: It’s August 10th. As I quit smoking on April 10th 2022, and as I haven’t smoked anything since, that means that three years and four months have past by since enjoying the pleasure of smoking my last cigarette. I haven’t cheated even once.

These days, I come into contact with no smokers at all. None whatsoever! I can’t remember the day when I last smelt a smoker’s burning cigarette. Why? Because I can’t think of anyone I know who smokes anymore. The people I know are either people who have never smoked or people who have given up the pleasurable habit. So it grieves me to have to report that I have almost forgotten what the smell of a burning cigarette is like.

Many people would probably be joyful about this. I am not. I used to love the smell of fresh cigarette and cigar smoke. To me, it was redolent of conviviality. To this day, the sight of a handsome man exhaling smoke is a joy to behold.

Joyless wonders may well be proud of their achievements in creating a joyless world. I am not. To me, the pleasures of life have been destroyed. And fact is: people are no healthier today as a result of the onslaught of killjoys. In fact, if anything, they are unhealthier. These days people get their kicks from different unhealthy habits. But healthier they are not.

© Mark Alexander
All Rights Reserved

Le cœur du bonheur

A real man enjoying a real smoke. That’s all! / Ein echter Mann, der einen echten Rauch genießt. Das ist es! / Un vrai homme appréciant une vraie fumée. C'est ça !
Un grand merci à Tumblr sur Pinterest pour cette jolie photo.

Timeshift: The Smoking Years | BBC

Jun 3, 2012 • Reported by Dr. Stephen Hamann (TRC International Affairs Consultant)

1922: Sight of Women Smoking A Cigar Shocks Paris: Two women who shared a Havana cigar in a Parisian restaurant reportedly caused a stir. »

Davidoff of London - Cigar Band Etiquette

Jul 1, 2021 • Eddie addresses common questions